MONUMENT NO. 241546

A Bronze Age barrow cemetery at Field Farm. The barrow cemetery, comprising ten round barrows, are visible on aerial photographs as ring ditches as are the cropmarks of a partially visible rectangular enclosure, and parallel ditched boundaries. . Four of the barrows were excavated between 1985-88 in advance of gravel extraction. One of the barrows, a bell barrow was Early Bronze Age in date and contained secondary urned cremation burials. The other three barrows were constructed during the Early/Middle Bronze Age and contained primary cremation burials, some of which were urned. The bell barrow must have remained as a visible earthwork until at least the late 6th-7th century AD as it appeared to have been used to mark the position of a inhumation cemetery. (For details of these monuments see child records)

The Bronze Age round barrow cemetery and prehistoric or Romanrectangular enclosure, referred to by the previous authority, andparallel ditched boundaries of unknown date, are visible as cropmarks and have been mapped from aerial photographs. Ten possible round barrows were identified as ring ditches. Those referred to by authority 1 as 'A' to 'C' and 'E' have the following dimensions and locations: A - diameter 20m, centred at SU 6771 7002, B - two barrows with diameters of 40m and 20m centred at SU 6756 7024 and SU 6760 7026, C - incomplete barrow with diameter 20m centred at SU 6771 7031, and 'E' - diameter 20m, centred at SU 6805 7015. A further four barrows, all with diameters of 20m, were identified at SU 6741 7039, SU 6751 7038, SU 6765 7030 and SU 6771 7031. A barrow with adiameter of 10m is located at SU 6747 7015.

Barrow E has a pit adjacent to it which is centred at SU 6804 7016but it is unclear how, or if, the two features are connected.

The excavated barrow 'B', (Hob uid 1455136) appears tocontain a number of pits. It is unclear what these features are -they are presumably not 7th century inhumations as these would be around rather than under the earthwork barrow if the barrow was still upstanding.

The feature described as 'D' by authority 1 is visible as three sidesof a rectangular enclosure which measures 75m across and is centred at SU 6761 7062. The west side of the enclosure may be double ditched.

Parallel ditched boundaries, one of which appears to be cut by orcuts barrow 'B', measuring up to 320m, are centred at SU 6756 7030 and SU 6743 7017. It is unclear how these relate to the cemetery.

(Morph No.s TG.322.1-4)This description is based on data from a MORPH2 database.(2)

Four of the barrows were excavated between 1985-88 in advance of gravel extraction. One of the barrows, a bell barrow (Hob uid 1455136 - SU 67 SE 155) was Early Bronze Age in date and contained secondary urned cremation burials. The other three barrows were constructed during the Early/Middle Bronze Age and contained primary cremation burials, some of which were urned. The bell barrow must have remained as a visible earthwork until at least the late 6th-7th century AD as it appeared to have been used to mark the position of a inhumation cemetery. (for further details of these monuments see child records) (3)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) General reference

The Middle Thames Valley: An arch survey of the river gravels 1975 33 (T Gates)